As words such as “shocker,” “jawdropper” and “travesty” are used to describe her unpredictably early elimination from American Idol, Pia Toscano herself is left to wonder how it is that her fans didn’t rock the voting hard enough.

Toscano, however, was not wholly surprised herself — at least to make the Bottom 3 during Thursday’s results show.

Not long after delivering her Wednesday night performance of Tina Turner’s “River Deep Mountain High,” she tells us, “I had a weird feeling in my stomach. I felt good about my performance, I tried something different — but I said to my parents, ‘I kind of feel like I’m going to be in the Bottom 3.’ They said, ‘No, no, be confident. You’re going to be fine.'”

But even with those words of encouragement, when she did make the dreaded Bottom 3, “It’s kind of like I expected it,” Toscano says.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but is there anything Toscano would have done differently this week or in choosing/delivering any prior performance? “Absolutely not,” she attests. “I truly agree with everything the judges said to me, all of their constructive criticism. I’ve tried to work on my weakenessss — and I will continue to do so.”

And in her mind, what are those weaknesses, if not her inarguably stellar pipes? “The judges were absolutely right — I needed to change it up [with song selection], and I was really excited about [covering ‘River Deep Mountain High’]. It wasn’t even that much out of my comfort zone [because] back home I was doing a lot of up-tempo stuff, more so than the ballads. But I have to get more comfortable on stage. I am a little shy sometimes, and I do get a bit of stage fright.”

Idol faithful, let’s help Pia out: What is your current theory on why, despite her talent and at the very least Top 5 worthiness, she was the singer sent home?

*It’s no coincidence that the only 2 people that recieved some critisicm were the Bottom 2, Stefano and Pia.
*As J.Lo said on Ryan Seacrest, she expected her at least Top 5, even Top 2 and beyond. In one way I give J.Lo credit for trying to push Pia and make it her better, like she said, she was like a prized student that needed to be pushed to even more greatness. The problem is that while they were pushing Pia, they weren’t saying anything to anyone else. Telling Stefano he was perfect and magical was completly ridiculous.
*I am now worried that whatever critiques the judges have been giving to these contestants that they will now be even less critical because they will be afraid that anything bad they say will get their “favorite” sent home. They either have to be critical and be honest about all the contestants or don’t even show up, because they are doing no one any favors by being bland and neutral.

I’m hopeful that this will get the judges back to critiquing the contestants, instead of copping out and saying, “It was beautiful. It was perfect. I have nothing to say about that.” I on the other hand DO have things to say about it all. Click on my name to read my extended comments. No viruses or ads on that site (same host site as idolbethejudge above me.)

Pia was not going to win this thing anyway. She had no stage presence. It was ironic that Iggy was on the results show. Now ther’s a guy with stage presence. Does he have a perfect voice? No, but he is one of the forefathers of what rock music is today. There’s more to singing than just standing there and hitting every note.

Honestly, would anybody really buy an album of hers? I know I wouldn’t. I mean, you can see that kind of singing on any cruise ship.

Judges are useless!! No constructive critisism and just a lot of false hope. Jacob screeches and has an ego and Stefano is cheesy and has no range. They gave casey a big head, saved him, and wasted a save. Jlo a waste of 12 million, steven an ellen jr and Randy continues to be a moron. Pia paid the price.

The judged might be better giving constructive critism instead of making them all feel they did so well or ALL are in it to win it…..even if they are.
Besides that, there should be no fingers pointing to the judges and money they make as this is now going over the top….and ridiculous.

By the way, Jlo was the only judge that told Pia she need to work on her stage performance etc….so don’t even blame her and her only…because they i know it is BS TALK…
The blame falls on all the VOTERS who either was too secure and fent they did not need to vote or vote enough for her…or those who just never voted….i voted for her until 2am so who else did???come on now…

There you go again! Blaming Pia’s ouster on those all-powerful judges. They are nothing more than celebrity guest stars. They hold no sway over the votes of the 13 to 16 year old girls or the cougars, who make up the majority of the voting public. James has the majority of the cougar’s vote. Once Paul is gone, he will be unstoppable. Scotty has the young girl’s vote. Once Stefano and Lauren are gone, he will be unstoppable. Television production is all about demographics. Uncle Nigel knows who his audience is and he is playing them to the hilt. The final is going to be Scotty Vs. James. Country Vs. Rock. Clean cut with good Christian values Vs. A hard knocks life on the edge. Scotty will win in a landslide. Good will triumph. Scotty will sell a gazillion records. James will have a moderately successful career, on par with David Cook or Adam Lambert. Jacob will have a huge gospel career. Lauren will have a career in cable network sitcoms playing the girlfriend of the ingenue star of the show. We won’t hear from any of the rest.

I disagree – I think she lost because America didn’t think she was fantastic on stage, and therefore they didn’t vote for her. She picked snoozy songs (even managing to sap the energy out of the typically high-energy “River Deep, Mountain High”) and delivered them in a robotic manner with little passion. And when she finally tried a little movement last night, she lumbered around the stage sooooooooo slooooooowly that it was laughable. On rock and roll night, when she should have been powerful, electrifying, messy, creative, spontaneous, and wild, we got the same controlled, frigid, Stepford wife. If she’s not going to show any passion to her audience, then she shouldn’t have expected for them to passionately vote for her.

if Pia was only voted out because she is boring then that doesn’t explain why Paul, Stefano, Jacob or Scotty are still there. Paul, Stefano and Jacob are horrible singers with no stage presence and Scotty is a one trick pony with no stage presence. Since they are all still in the game then it has to be that Pia was a so called boring female and not a boring guy. Amazing that so far women are the only ones being voted off except for Casey. The judges decided to save him even though it was very evident that the women would not be sticking around for very long.

I am not sure what it takes for someone to feel connected to the contestant but I SURE FELT CONNECTED WITH PIA WHEN SHE PERFORMED…i even got goosebumps sometimes.lol
she did not have to be running up and down the stage to do good or connect…

I agree Padraig. Gorgeous woman. Lovelly voice. She just never connected with me like Underwood, Hudson or Daughtry did. I really wanted her to do well, but I just never felt a lot of soul from her. No “wow” factor. It takes more than beautity and technical perfection to be a star – presence, and charisma are what set you apart from the crowd and I’m sad to say, I just didn’t get that from her.

Judges are so disappointing. EVERYONE isn’t AMAZING ALL OF THE TIME EVEN! J-LO (tho she is getting a bit … just a bit better with constructive criticism).

I cant wait for X-Factor. Real, honest, constructive criticism (cheer the good, acknowledge the problems type judging.) I think when the judges say EVERYONE is so wonderful, you can’t help but have some real shocking eliminations.

Anyway, the X-Factor format sounds great – audiences at the auditions will add a whole new feeling to the experience.. and of course… Simon.

I won’t be watching AI anymore. I don’t like the format. I don’t like the “help” from producers. I don’t like judges that are too nice ALL OF the time. (tho I love how Steven says things, sometimes I just want to smack him because everyone’s singing is BEAUTIFUL. Everyone? Everytime? Really Steven? Really?

I 100% agree with you, and this should be posted EVERYWHERE so that people understand WHY she ws eliminated! I wish Simon was around or could comment, because he would absolutely tell it like it is. Pia’s voice is outstanding, no question. Her stage presence and personality are a zero, and that should (and obviously does) count! She did the same thing over and over, after being advised not to, and then was surprised by the outcome. Maybe now she will listen to the pros.

I have to ask you all here – if Pia did “ballad after ballad” then why, with the best voice in the land, did not the voters also go after:

– Scotty – doing country after country (even picking an Elton John song because it had “country” in the title)
– Stefano – doing (gasp) ballad after ballad (and off key)
– Paul – doing Rod Stewart and a chicken dance (weekly) in the same white and rose suit
– Jacob – doing opera after opera (with endless diva expressions)
– James – doing the same rock performance each week with the same dumb fake “tail” (only change up – when he finally sang with a piano instead of burning it)

ANSWER: They are all safe as they are guys. The Tweenies only vote for them. It is the ONLY WAY they are consistent in their voting.

NEXT STEPS: I’ll come back to Idol when they FIX THE VOTING. (But this ain’t gonna happen as long as major sponsor, AT&T, keeps getting billion$$$ for all those tweenies texting in their votes – Nigel can’t say no). Buh- bye!

Voters don’t “GO AFTER” contestants. Voters vote for Who they like (and there’s no accounting for taste). Some contestants resonate with us – and it motivate us to dial. And voters have known for YEARS that you need to vote for EVERYONE except who we want to go home.

Pia went home last night because
(1) That stunning voice and her command of it lacked emotional depth. She had a wall up.
(2) As a result of that wall – although lots and lots of people loved Pia – she wasn’t a lot of people’s #1. Pia was a LOT of people’s #2, 3, or 4.
(3) So when the judges insisted people vote for JUST THAT ONE PERSON (rather than several) – they sealed Pia’s fate.

Pia is gorgeous, super-talented, and almost everybody “LIKED” her but she had that WALL up – and she remained emotionally inaccessible. I know – that shouldn’t matter – but it does. People started really noticing David Cook and voting for him in droves when his wall came down (Hello?). I have a lot of friends who ONLY like Adam’s vulnerable performances (saying they felt a distance most of the time). Pia could have grown beyond it like David Cook did – she could have moved into people’s #1 spot if she had stayed. Why on earth would the judges say “Only vote for only your one favorite” so early in the season?

It’s the judges fault for saying it – it’s our fault if we listened to them. I read over last night’s posts – and it’s astounding how many people come right out and said “Pia wasn’t my favorite but…”, or “I really liked Pia but I never voted for her”.

The judges have been asleep at the wheel these last few weeks (some longer) – but I’m afraid people DID listen to them when they said “vote only for your one favorite” (after Casey was saved). And I think that did her in.

Because the others are more interesting, I suppose. P.S. Haley and Lauren, both more interesting gals, fared better than males Stefano and Jacob. But I agree with you 100% about the texting and corporate greed. It is shameless.

The difference is…… the guys who seems to dothe same thing over and over.. the one-trick ponies, do wht they do (usually) very well. Scotty is great at country. James rocks it so well. Casey is the king of all that Jazz. Pia, unfortunaely,beautiful voice, bhot woman, but no charisma. She was pleasing.. plesant to the ears, but just not great. Kinda boring, actually.

I TOTALLY AGREE !
Everyone is acting like Pia had a freakin flawless performance.
Well she didn’t.
And Gwen Stefani didn’t help her out any with the fugly outfit either.

Pia did Ballad after Ballad after Ballad for weeks now and people were ALREADY growing weary.
And when she FINALLY tried to step up her tempo she really didn’t pull it off.
She kept saying “oh no problem I can do uptempo ” but she really didn’t do Tina Turners song ANY justice at all and her stage performace was passionless.

Pia promised great uptempo to go along with the ballads and she didn’t deliver.

This is a forum for people to voice their opinions. I don’t understand how what @Laurel said qualifies her as a “meanie tweenie” or whatever (who came up with anyway?). She didn’t say oh Pia was ugly, so I didn’t vote for her. She said she didn’t like her style i.e ballad after ballad and not being able to pull of an uptempo song. These are all valid points and not just being mean to be mean. She could have been a little less blunt, but that’s good ol’ American needing the PC version of everything due to overly sensitive people. Sometimes you can’t explain why you don’t like someone or why you’re not jumping off the couch to vote for them 1,000 times. That doesn’t mean the person is mean. It’s a reality show. It’s never been about the music only, so all things celebrity apply and that includes looks, style, personality, stage presence/performance style, etc.

But how did Stefano and Jacob and Casey deliver any more than Pia? They certainly don’t rock the clothes and Stefano, Casey and Jacob rarely move, and if they do they simply take a few steps like Pia did. Women are always expected to do more and to dress spectacularly while guys can hop around on stage in jeans.

Simply stated, they didn’t !
Neither Stefano , Casey nor Jacob did a better job than Pia.
As a matter of fact I was hoping Jacob would go home.
His comments were insulting and I’m not really impressed with him.

I agree with Padraig and the others. She’s beautiful and has great technique, but didn’t connect her feelings to the songs or the audience. Some of the others are getting through because there is that emotional connection that comes through the TV screen. Others are eye candy, but they will fall off before the final five, they always do each season.

Pia was a really good singer , but she did not display any comfort on the stage and that made the performance very little if none. Her vocals are good but people want more than just singing. People like to be entertained because it’s more fun to watch. No one can compare her to Celene Dion because She moves alot on the stage and she is not scared to show that. I don’t think it was the judges fault. They did tell her to move a little more and show more but others had things told to them and they are still in this race. The bottom line is America cast the votes and she just didn’t get them. Even if she made it one more week she would not have won this contest, it wasn’t in the cards for her.

TJAT ROGJT TJERE is BS….If America did not like her then why are so many ppl still so upset?? Go figures that one out.
She had the BEST VOCALS AND RANGE…SHE HAD THE COMPLETE PACKAGE FOR AMERICAN IDOL…JUST NEED TO OWN THE STAGE AND ADMITTED SHE WAS A LIL SHY SOMETIMES…..
SHE WILL GO PLACES AND DO GOOD…ITS ALL GOOD…

Well said, George. I have been ALL over the internet reading comments in order to find out why Pia was knocked off by the MEANIE TWEENIES. I have found the answers:

The evil Tweenies said Pia, “was boring.” (#1 most common comment among these little twits). AND they did not like her dress Wednesday night. (#2 most common comment from the pre-pubescent brainchilds).

Could someone at Idol fix the voting and also educate the children that WE WERE LOOKING FOR THE BEST SINGER – NOT MISS CONGENIALITY.

I’m not a little “twit” tween and I certainly don’t consider myself evil. I’m a 41 year old professional who felt, along with so many others, that Pia was a boring performer who simply couldn’t connect to her audience. And if you don’t know by now. after 10 years of Idol, that the best singer doesn’t necessarily always win, than you don’t know the show. It’s all about the complete package-something with obviosuly Miss Toscano lacked.

But that’s just not true – it is a competition to find the next American Idol – translation: The next big pop star. People always fall back to saying it’s a singing competition, but it’s really more of a “whole package” contest.

Poor Pia… she really deserved to win the season, in my opinion. Well, any music label with a brain should be tripping all over themselves to sign her. With the right songs, she could still be a huge pop star. I’ll keep an eye out for her first CD and buy it for sure~

I love Pia.
Idol needs to put a vote limit so that tween girls and housewives can’t vote 10000000x for their crushes. I voted for pia last night 10 times but we can’t all stay by the phone for two hours and do nothing but vote. Besides thats not an accurate way of seeing who’s the american idol since its not counting how many fans each singer has but rather who’s fans can vote. The ten vote thing will be a better representative of who has the most fans and who’ll sell the most since a person doesn’t usually buy 100s of the same album they usually just buy one.

I agree! If you’re gonna vote 1000 times for your favorite throughout the entire season– you better be shelling out the time, money, and energy on them if/when they win! (Though of course, this correlation doesn’t actually exist….wish it did in a way!) I’m looking at you, tweens who voted for Lee DeWyze…..

@Marta while I am certainly not a teen or tween and not your typical housewife, I voted big time for Lee last year. However, I do understand and somewhat agree with your comments on t.t’s post. I usually ask my husband to text vote while I use the phone to vote as it gets down to the Top 5. So it would be nice to have some limit so I’m not going crazy to get in the votes for my faves. :)

You must not be familiar with Lee’s diehard fanbase, the girls and guys that travel all over to see him since winning Idol..none of which are tweenies, maybe ” a few cougars” but not tweenies..actually most of the DeWyze Ones, Lee Dewyze Army, WyzeguysandGals, are in their twenties and thirties. He is doing fine, in everyway, and he is only trying to please his fans and himself, not the world.

While I agree about the voting format, I don’t think that Pia’s elimination had that much to do with tweens voting. Certainly the tween girls were not voting for Jacob who in spite of his adequate performance, was the obvious choice to leave because of his comment and overall lack of support on all the boards. His Twitter account has the fewest hits and his performance style is the opposite of Pia, over the top. So why didn’t Pia get the votes? Because while everyone admired her talent not enough were so moved by her performance to pick up the phone.

Teens and housewives? Really? Talk about prejudiced opinions…. housewives I know weren. ‘t DeWyze/Allen voeters and aren’t “cute boy” voters either. Most housewives I know are Durbin fans. Let’s not generalize, man. That’s such a limited outlook. It makes you sound like the immature one, not the teen girls.

Amen Elaine!
I hate the generalizations. My girlfriends and I (late 20s and early 30s) are all voting for Haley and occasionally Lauren. And about teens, let’s not forget that teens are the ones who have made girls like Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus into huge mega stars – they aren’t “cute boys.” I think the problem is the women that have been chosen. Everyone agrees the first 4 to go weren’t going to win. The Pia thing is just because she never really connected with anyone.

That’s an arrogant generalization. She didn’t connect with you. She connected with other people including me. I’ve never felt connected to anything Lauren or Haley or Jacob or Stefano or Paul has done. At least 3 of those people should have left before Pia. How you gonna feel when it’s six guys & no girls?

They really need to update the voting methodology. The multi-vote process really doesn’t favor anything sane. One Vote. One Person. Sure – they can’t crow about 55 million votes – but at least it would make more sense.

Pia was the ONLY person on that stage with a truly beautiful voice. Idol needs to get rid of the save (Casey, really?) and they also need to do a voting system like DWTS — You can vote multiple times, but once you reach that limit, you’re done. I know they put a disclaimer on about the robocallers at the end of the episode, but you know those calls are still getting thru. Also, don’t change the numbers every week — If Pia was introduced as the #4 contestant, her number should have been the same, week after week. Just my opinion. And now I have 2.5 hours free to do whatever I please — Idol season 10 is done.

The only issue I’ve had with Pia is that she comes off kind of fake. She’s got an amazing voice and this week proved how talented she is. She’s had a bit of a plastic sheen to me, though, and that made it tougher to get behind her.

That said, she easily trumps most, if not all, of those remaining in the show. I think she could’ve learned to bring more “realness” to her poise and really knocked things out of the park. Now, we’ll never know. On the show anyway. I have no doubt she’s going to get some kind of contract out of this.

I’m just stunned that with people like Jacob and Haley still around – and even Scotty, who could easily begin touring with his country shtick now, but frankly doesn’t deserve to still be in this competition – that people would’ve voted this way. It’s regrettable.

Pia could sing. There’s no doubt about that. The girl has an amazing voice.

It’s Pia’s on-stage persona that did her in. In the clips we saw of her off-stage, she seemed like a fun and relaxed girl. Very likable.

But she was a different person on-stage. She was stiff and robotic. It never seemed like she was having fun. She was PERFORMING and being a SERIOUS PERFORMER.

She also dressed so much older and formally than she should have. She dolled herself up like she was about to take the stage in Atlantic City to perform in front of an audience of seniors.

She also overdid it with the BIG songs. She is a young girl. She could have also performed some lighter, more contemporary tunes and still shown off her pipes.

All this said, I don’t think we need to feel bad for Pia. The girl is talented, and I am sure she’ll have a fantastic singing career. She just needs to learn from her mistakes on American Idol and move forward.

While I appreciate your point, I have to disagree. When was she supposed to do ‘contemporary’ songs? Elton John week? Motown week? Rock and Roll Hall of Fame week? Song from the year you were born week?

And given that she sang mostly ballads, she would look pretty silly if she was bouncing around up on stage, light-hearted and smiling.

I think the point is that she could have chosen more songs outside of the Whitney, Mariah, Celine songbook. Seriously. And then, it’s all a big deal that she’s doing a Tina Turner song……a song that Celine Dion has famously covered for years. As fpr Elton John week, SERIOUSLY? She chose one of the most over-done songs on Idol EVER. Lame. Song. Choices.

I am tired of hearing how Pia was voted off becuase of her lack of stage presence. You can teach someone how to work a stage, but you cannot teach someone talent. Pia has tons of talent unlike several of the other contestants. I am sure that with time and experience she will be able to work the stage like a pro. I wish her all the best.

Thank you so much for making the point about being able to learn stage presence. I believe that’s why JLo brought it up because it’s an actual critique that she thought could be worked on. I’ve been reading serveral AI forums and was thinking this, but didn’t see anyone saying anything about it. All I’ve read was that she was boring. I don’t know what’s boring about beautiful flawless pitch and inflection. That being said, at least I never made the scrunched-up-nose-flinch-turn-away-from-the-tv face that I’ve made with just about every other contestent…including my favorite…during one of her performances.

If I hear Randy say one more time that “this is a singing competition” then I am going to throw something at the TV. Clearly, it is not a “singing competition” or else one of best singers would not have been voted off. Maybe Pia should have growled more or lit a piano on fire and more people would have voted for her.

I agree that stage presence can be taught. When my nephew performed in a full length ballet for the first time, his artistic director hired a professional dancer to teach him to walk across the stage with presence. He worked with him for several weeks. He could already dance, it was the presence he was taught. It had an amazing effect and he stands out on stage to this day. But the problem with Pia is that she needed to have learned it before America voted. She will learn it and do quite well I suspect but the votes went for those who have the presence.

I guess after last night’s vote I am in the minority, but I don’t expect Pia (or any of the other contestants) to work the stage like a pro because they are not professionals. Granted, some of them do and I think that’s great, but for me, I think talent is more important at this stage in their budding careers.

You are exactly right! I think with the right people working with her, Pia can be a superstar. She already has the talent and the looks, all she needs is to work on her confidence and stage presence. People seem to disregard the Carrie Underwood comparisons but I think it is spot on. I recall many people saying the same things about her that is now being said about Pia. Look at where she is today. And what is the more “exciting” performer(Bo Bice) doing? Not much.

Pia was the best singer in the competition, but definitely not the best performer. I honestly can’t remember even one song that she sang throughout the whole show. She always hits her notes, but I have always found her to be boring. Paul and Casey are my two favorites because they are interesting and make better song choices. There were a few growly weeks where I absolutely hated Casey’s performances, but last week he was SO good. I think the judges save was much better used on him because he’s so versatile and you never know what you’re going to hear from him. With Pia, you know that it’s going to be a big powerful perfect vocal that is totally forgettable.

The thing I like about Casey and James, as well, is that both seem to be trying to expand their ranges as performers. Some many of the rest are just locked into the mode of trying to blow the roof off the stage every time they perform – and, of course, the in-studio audience won’t respond to anything else – that they aren’t showing an ability to grow and adjust.
I liked Stefano early on but it’s clear he’s kind of a one-trick pony in the way Scotty is. Sure, both are good at that one-trick but they aren’t broadening themselves. Jacob is just pure sass and his constant power is an example of that and quite boring, if you ask me. And Paul has such a unique voice that he’s easily a love-or-hate kind of talent. He and James, though, are definitely the most gifted performers of the bunch.
As for the girls, Lauren has a terrific voice but she hasn’t had experience enough yet to really guide her voice in exceptional ways. As a result, her performances are good but quite expected. And I don’t understand the fascination with Haley. Her ‘Piece of My Heart’ this week was probably her best performance, but that had more to do with the fact that she somehow (thankfully) found elocution this week. Still, the girl doesn’t offer much and I think she’s taking the judges advice in the wrong way, choosing “safe” songs that are supposed to bring out this quote-unquote bluesy side of her when the only personality in the songs is that growl.
As I said, Casey and James seem to be the only two that are actually trying to grow and evolve into complete performers and artists. For that, I appreciate that.

Sorry I’m not sure what kind of stage presence Paul or Casey have.
Yes, I do…none. Also they can’t sing either. The judges save was totally wasted on Casey. American Idol doesn’t even want him to win because he will sell less then Lee is doing who sold less Kris who sold less than David Cook. If American Idol voters keep voting these untalented stiffs in, the show will be paying people to take their cds off their hands

I think the producers realized a few years ago that Clarkson and Underwood were flukes when it comes to actual recording contracts and delivering big numbers in music sales. Their concern is primarily how everything scores with viewing audience much more so than album sales after the fact now. Sure, they’d love to find someone who sparks with the mass public in an ongoing fashion as much as those two (and as much as non-winners Aiken, Daughtry, Hudson, and Lambert), but I think they’re wise to landscape of the music scene nowadays.
And though you might not get the appeal of Paul or Casey, it’s undeniable that they have ways with an audience. In fact, while I’m not the hugest fan of Paul’s voice — though keen on his ability to phrase and work a song to his unique style with relative ease (his rendition of ‘Rocket Man’ aside, of course) — I am absolutely impressed with how interactive he is with a crowd. He doesn’t hold back with getting everyone involved and treating each performance like he’s playing a gig somewhere. It’s a gift for him. Stage presence and command, I would say.

There are quite a few contestants on Idol that can sing. And quite a few are very lovely and nice to look at. I do think the voting system needs a complete re-vamp….limiting public number of votes and having the judges vote (ala DWTS) would be a good start. All that being said:

American Idol is more than a singing competition. To be a successful artist you must be an ENTERTAINER. It’s a whole package. Voice, musicality, your connection to the audience and their connection with you, movement, grace……charisma.

I am sorry to see Pia leave before she had a chance to broaden and strengthen herself in other facets of entertaining. But it’s a time-limited contest. My suggestion is for Pia to see an acting coach – someone who can help with her delivery and her stage presence (and her shyness). Scotty is a good signer – not my favorite genre – but I ENJOY his performances because he gets into character on stage and has great connection with the audience. You FEEL fun watching him.

To take this outside of the AI realm, watch a clip of Liza Minelli in concert. She doesn’t have the greatest voice in the world, but she is one of the greatest entertainers.

For what it’s worth, I haven’t seen an “American Idol” yet this season………..

I had not watched Idol since Adam Lambert got screwed. I tuned in Wednesday night to see what was happening. I picked Pia as my easy favorite. Thursday night I read that she’d been voted off. No need to check in again for the rest of the season.

@Alex – Hey, genius – Adam Lambert got screwed. The winner of Idol get THOUSANDS of $$$s. Adam lost out of that. The only reason he “got” what you list here is because he WORKED FOR IT AND WAS THE REAL WINNER WITH THAT “IT” IDOL IS STILL SEARCHING FOR. Idiot.

Poor Pia had the goods to go farther in this contest, but there were several fatal flaws.
1)the judges failed to give constructive and analytical evaluations of her performances
2)she does not connect with the songs and often seems aloof
3)she sang old songs without any attempt to make them current or different
4)she had no stage presence
5)every week is the opprotunity to compell the audience to call in for you and she wasn’t compelling
Beautifuly girl with a beautiful voice, but there are thousands of pretty girls with great voices, she needed to bring something else to the table. She didn’t.

I agree with most of what you said. I would just add that the judges not only failed to give her constructive criticism on how to improve but they also failed to critique the others leading some viewers to believe all performances were equal. That simply was not the case. Perhaps more honest criticism of Lauren Alaina’s very weak Natural Woman or Casey’s forgettable performance would have moved voters to vote for Pia instead.

voters are not passive. the judges ”failed to critique the others leading some viewers to believe all performances were equal” – BS.
leave lauren and casey out of this – stefano wasn’t good and Randy did actually try to critique him but in the end he wasn’t voted off. so what’s your point? stefano was the one who was kept in the competition probably at the expense of pia. and so be it. I really couldn’t care less.

Yeah voting system needs to be changed, limited to 10 votes each or 20, but not UNLIMITED !! that’s just crazy and skews the voting. That being said, I’m not entirely sure the vote was necessarily wrong last night because Pia had the most boring stage presence of ‘em all that night. Sure she can sing but viewers clearly want to be entertained. But I thought it would be Paul or Stefano to go, because you should be able to sing too and Paul clearly cannot sing, though I just love his smile.

Another suggestion is perhaps have viewers vote on who to vote OFF. I think sometimes viewers get complacent by thinking certain contestants are safe. If the vote was turned to the negative, the “safe” ones really would be safe. Have people vote for their bottom 3, it’d be more accurate I think or reflective of the true national sentiment. Peeps vote for their faves for two hours straight, but prolly won’t waste their time on the dogs but just once unless you really hated them that much.

Here’s the problem, with not only Pia, but with several of them. They all have great voices, but none of them have the charisma of some of the singers from past shows. Pia may have a great set of pipes, but as they say…she just didn’t connect with the audience and quite frankly, just her saying she was surprised, says it all to me.

These new judges gave constructive criticism at first and that was great. I don’t like nor miss Simon at all. But now they’re just giving them all tongue bathings when really they don’t deserve it.

Pia’s song was just not a good song to sing. She needed some wow factor. And while her voice is good, contrary to popular belief (her own) she can’t sing rock. And she’s robotic. She may learn eventually as did Carrie Underwood who also was robotic way back when, but Carrie had more than Pia. And besides, it should be well known how country music embraces new singers more than any other genre of music.

Pia would be best suited for the stage or for power ballads. But what she doesn’t do is emote. This is not to say she’s the only one as I feel none of them this year do any emoting.

Surprisingly Paul McDonald was the best of the worst on Wednesday night because he got everyone up dancing. Unfortunately the song was about killing a man and that million dollar smile of his just didn’t work.

Stefano also has a good voice but he’s no Michael Bolton. Lauren Alaina at 16 shouldn’t even know what a natural woman is, let alone be singing about it. Besides which the words of the song are quite outdated. But even having said that, she should have watched Kelly Clarkson’s amazing performance way back when and then she should have run the other way. And speaking of which, Jacob should have watched one of Kris Allen’s performances of Man In The Middle and gone back to singing his first choice (or should I say Jimmy’s first choice) of Let’s Get It On. I might have been squicked out to hear Jacob sing THAT (again, no Marvin Gaye), but one should always look back at past Idol performances to make sure one can do better. Jacob did not even come close to Kris’ rendition.

So Pia…bye, bye, bye. I was actually not surprised to see her go. My guess for the B3 on Wednesday, was either Pia, Stefano and Jacob OR Jacob, Stefano and Lauren.

The only shock to me was that Jacob is still alive and kicking on American Idol.

Pia, I am so sad I won’t be seeing you sing anymore. I think if we had known you better — that you were a shy person who struggled with stage fright — America might have been more sympathetic. None of this is your fault. I’m glad you believe everything happens for a reason. This could all turn out extremely well for you. I will be rooting for you, and I know millions of others will be as well. Can’t wait to see what you do next!

There is no doubt that Pia has a beautiful voice. Unfortunately, I never felt anything when she sang. Its about more than notes on a page. We need to feel what she’s feeling and that she understands what she’s signing about. I always felt there was a wall up when she performed. I could see she was trying to bring it down but it never stayed down for an entire performance. If she ever learns how to be completely vulnerable and let us in she will be amazing.

aw shucks, I’m Scotty and I am a country bumpkin that turns everything into a country song. Glad that you feel my performances. Does that make you a country bumkin also?
You ask why,cause I have done nothing more then Pia but I am more popular then sliced bread. I guess it doesn’t pay to be a boring female but it pays to be a boring male singer.

The one cardinal sin on a TV show, especially a “reality” or “competition” TV show.

Robotic. Pageant. Whatever words you want to use, when she was onscreen singing, I turned away from the TV and did something else. Listening was fine, but I didn’t need to watch. And if you don’t need to watch, what’s the point of her being on a TV show?

Ironically, I think with some acting/presentation lessons, she’d be a great TV hostess or entertainment correspondant as she has incredible poise. But I don’t see a place for her in the music industry as a headliner, even with her excellent vocals. She looks and acts WAY older than her age which doesn’t help either. I kept having to be reminded she’s college-age. She looks “Real Housewives” age and that isn’t helping her stylistically.

The bottom line is, of this very talented group of kids, Scotty and Lauren are the only two who can easily be sold into the current music industry. And they’re not my faves, lest I be accused of favoritism. But the folks I like (James, Paul, Casey) are great performers, and great musicians, but they’re theatrical or in the case of Paul, indie. I do not expect to ever hear a song by any of them on the radio stations I listen to. And Pia has nothing interesting or unique enough in her voice to make her stand out for radio either. She’s really good. And really uninteresting.

While I don’t expect Jacob to last in the competition much longer either, at least he’s not boring when he’s onstage. In fact, he’s the one I enjoy watching the most, with his infectious passion and enthusiasm, I’m always smiling when he’s onscreen. He may not be perfect, he may be way way way way over the top, but he’s not boring. And I’d rather watch a less perfect passionate performance (Jacob, James, etc.) than a perfect dispassionate one.

Of course, ideally, I’d really like to watch a perfect AND passionate one. But Adam Lambert is busy crashing Gaga parties these days. LOL

Advice that would help Pia –
1) don’t wear sky high heels, you can’t move around in them. Wear something like boots with low heels so as to move gracefully around the stage when performing.
2) singing Celine Dion songs only appealed to the small number of voters who like Celine Dion. (Even Pia’s “uptempo” song was Celine Dion’s version of River Deep, Mountain High.) Try contemporary songs – people liked Pia’s Grenade and Teenage Dream. For rock week, a great suggestion that I saw was for Pia to sing Heart. While they’re not in Rock Hall of Fame, that’s what people wanted, for Pia to do something interesting and more contemporary. I think she’s still be here if she’d tried something different than another Celine song (Blondie? Madonna? The Police? taking a song by a guy and transforming it?)

People assumed that Pia would be safe and voted fo others they liked and didn’t want to be eliminated. Wow, a harsh lesson to learn. I will miss Pia and I know some friends that will NEVER watch Isol again but Pia will be fine. She will join the ranks of JHud and Daughtry. Pia, stardsom is just around the corner.

So shocked to see her go. She was so gracious about being sent home and handled it all with grace. She is a class act. I feel that the judges need to be more constructive with these kids week to week. Every song I hear is not ‘beautiful’, or ‘too good to judge’. Pia has a great voice and she was spot on week to week, but I myself thought she had more to give. I wanted to see her bust out and really get edgy this week, I mean what better theme week to do that with. It was a flawless vocal, but it was another song that Celine Dion has covered-that makes 2 covers and 1 original from the CD songbook collection. Never should have gone out at 9 though. I had her going all the way to top 3 at least. Frankly, I think she is the only one who had the slightest chance to take the crown and sash from Scotty. Good luck to you Pia.

pia had an amazing voice, but it’s a tv show and she just didn’t have a personality to connect with that would make people pick up the phone and vote for her. simon would have driven this home. maybe it wouldn’t have helped – you can’t make yourself outgoing if you’re not, but at least he would have put it out there. in steven tyler’s world, every song and every singer is “just beautiful.”

I’m surprised that so many people are SO worked up over this…even to the point of using the Twit’s communication method. Take a ‘lude, people! In the grand scheme of things, it won’t impact you personally at all. The only one “hurt” by this arguably could be Pia. However, Pia’s gotten more exposure than she would have had she not auditioned for Idol at all. She’ll get a nice check for going on tour this summer, and then she can move on with her professional life.

I wouldn’t rule out someone in the gambling world using technology to make a killing. What kind of odds do you suppose paid off for someone gambling on Pia going home this week? 1000 to 1? This isn’t like a horse race or sports game, since anyone can influence the outcome.

She was sent home because she is not someone that appeals to preteen and teen girl voters. I’m beginning to think a woman can’t win Idol anymore, and that’s what makes me so mad about Pia going home. I guess I wanted to believe that ANYONE had a chance to win, but since a woman has gone home every week since top 13 started, I’m beginning to think you have to have a Y chromosome to win. It makes it a lot less fun to watch when you know that the quality of performances will affect neither the judging (useless) or the voting.

Plain and simple she was sent home because her fans thought she was safe. I thought about voting for her but then I remembered that Christian Slater’s little girl had her sign supporting Pia & Lauren, and thought she is covered. Therefore I voted a few times for my other favorite. Also I didn’t like Pia’s outfit (Gwen Stefani needs to be blamed!) & I also didn’t like that I knew in advance she was going to be singing an uptempo and specifically knowing what exact song she is gonna sing! It did not motivate and I assumed she was safe. I think all the celebrities and fans, like myself who are older don’t vote generally and assumed she was safe. Now I don’t want to vote for anyone……………

I think she just didn’t do as well as in her past performances. When I went back and watched I realized it wasn’t her best and because I would think, as I think everyone in the viewing audience and there thought, she would never go…so no one really voted for her. Simon sometimes would really say cruel things to some contestants who were good but did not have such a great night…he rialed up the audiences so they had a reason to vote and VOTED against his comments!
Also, Pia probably has an older group that like her voice. I’ll bet she’s not top with the tweenies who do so much voting/texting/emailing. It would be fun to do a poll of age plus who the favorite is. I’m in the older age group…I love the show…but I don’t vote…so I have no say. All I can do is watch in amazement!

Pia, as a fellow New Yorker, I was cheering you on the whole time. You have the BEST voice of all of the finalists, no question. My theory as to why you got the least amount of votes is really a combination of many factors: the fan-girls who text mainly for the male contestants, the mindless praise from the judges for less vocally talented contestants, the horrendous outfit you wore on performance night (sorry), a “boring,” but technically superior performance that made very little impact with the voters, and a general assumption that you were probably going to be “safe” and didn’t need help from the viewers. I am going to miss you terribly and wish you every success.

I am wondering if she fell victim to the same thing Daughtry did. I decided to vote for the girls this week but since Pia was such a fav, I spent my time voting for the people I wanted to save. I felt sure she was safe. Now if she had had a ‘moment’ performance, I might have been moved to vote her way too. I don’t feel like anyone has had a noticable performance this year that I actually remember and smile about.

I thought Pia was the best singer and not boring at all. I am really disappointed that she was eliminated, but then again I only vote one time. I think the idea of voting more than once is ridiculous and should be changed. I also read somewhere that maybe people should vote once for the contestant that they dislike the most and not who they like.

Pia had the best voice of the bunch and the most potential to become a successful recording artist. The biggest surpise to come is that Scotty — whether he wins the whole thing or not — will become only a minor country music star. He’s so convincing playing the part of country singer that the fact that his voice, while good enough for now, isn’t good enough for a sustained career. He’s Jordin Sparks not Carrie Underwood.

Scotty’s voice is certainly good enough for a sustained career and he has great stage presence. He is truly gifted. He will probably win Idol. Pia has an amazing voice, but Idol is not just about the best singer. Her problem was she has little stage presence and was not a great performer. I am sure someone will give her a chance, but I just can’t picture her on stage in a concert setting. She is best suited singing on Broadway with a chorus or a small singing part. To be a successful as a recording artist, you have to be a performer and she didn’t impress people that way, or she would not have been voted off.

I think Pia went home too soon. The problem is the way the judges are judging this year. They need to be more honest and stop saying everyone is wonderful, especially Steven. I think that all the contestants are good this year, but they are not all at the same level and could all use constructive criticism. Tell Jacob that he makes too many weird faces and that he is singing off key a lot, or James he is sometimes off key. Also, the only way to really fix the problem with Idol is to set it up like dancing with the stars. Have each phone line a limit of calls and have the judges score the contestants and combine the scores 50/50. This way each judge gets a vote and the contestants know whether their performance was a 10 or a 7.

I really thought she would be safe to go on to the next round. I didn’t think she would be axed. At the same time… like the film Highlander says… “there can be only ONE.” It’s a talented pool this year, so what more can you say? Although I thought she would go farther, It’s about artistry more then ever this year. Being both a front person who can play & arrange, if you compose, NOT so interested. It’s really about the style in which you are trying to create. For me, it’s hard to tell the difference between the other two remaining girls. Plenty of time to get some exposure still Pia. Top 10 goes on tour, right? Hang tight, doesn’t mean anything!! It’s really better NOT to win. They don’t have that great track record in the fame department. just ask Daughtry.

I don’t think the question is how is it possible that Pia is gone?
The question is HOW IS JACOB STILL ON?
He doesn’t sing. He caterwauls.
After reading countless message boards, the only possible explanation is the “tweens” all have a huge crush on him.
HUH?

Pia would still be in if she had sang something like “Grenade”. My daghter loves Pia but hated “River Deep Mountain High”. I personally love the song and enjoyed Pia’s ballads but it’s a generational thing. I think we forget that it’s young teens and very young adults who primarily vote. Pia sang like an “old soul” and that sadly can’t keep you in. I wish her great success. She deserves it.

The system for these shows in Britain is that the voting lines use a premium rate where each vote costs the equivalent of about 50 cents. Whilst the concept might sound outrageous to Americans who are used to voting for free, it prevents the situation where a minority of dedicated fans can unfairly influence the outcome by voting constantly for 2 hours. We’ve had fewer shocking results on X-Factor than there have been on American Idol and I’m sure that’s why.

I love Pia. Besides being drop dead gorgeous, I think she is actually the best singer there has been on Idol in the four years I have been watching – at least in terms of raw technical ability, and although I’ll keep watching, I’m far less interested now in the rest of the season. I hope she gets a recording contract anyway. Here’s hoping at least that Jacob is outsted next week. Listening to him is like rubbing sandpaper on my ears.

William, that’s an excellent idea, but Simon Fuller and AT&T will never give up their ability to come on and announce to sponsors that “last night 55 MILLION VOTES were cast!” They use the votes like web site page views to set sponsor fees. So, although your idea makes a world of great, good sense, it’s never going to happen.

People are accusing Pia of being distant and boring, but she never got the opportunity to show a personality. She never got the face time or edits that Lauren/James/Scotty/Casey have gotten. What’s more, with the advent of the heavy-handed record producer handlers, together with the criminally limited song lists, I don’t think that most of these kids are even getting their first choice for song selections… unless your name is Lauren, that is.

What did we see of Pia’s personality? Impeccable manners, humility (she always ended any talk about the next week with “If America brings me back”), compassion for her fellow competitors, and almost a debilitating shyness. I would have loved to see her go further just to see her work through her shyness. As many have said, with her talent, it’s just a matter of time before she cultivates a better stage presence (as did Carrie).

I think it was a combination of voter complacency, the judges singling her out as one of the few contestants criticized (which I think is directly related to a producer manipulated Lauren Win), and her beauty. She was just too gorgeous for big blocks of voter demographics. Lots of people have preconceived and set ideas about people that are that gorgeous, and I’ve seen lots of posts attaching smugness and “ice princess ways” descriptions that just were not fair.

If Iovine is the genius he’s cracked up to be, then he’s already put a call into Allesandra and Brielle. I think the best direction for Pia right now is to get together with those two and record as a girl group. Those girls put down some killer, professional level harmonies on “Grenade” in Hollywood week.

look the quality of this show has been steadily declining over the years including the switch up in judges and finally Simon leaving which was the final nail in the coffin…this show is all about reaching certain demographics and fanbases…i’m not a tween or teen, i’m 46 and i only vote once, i don’t keep txting for 2 hrs or hitting redial…ur supposed to vote for ur FAVORITES, pia was never one of my faves so i never voted for her…she was stepford wive technically perfect but no personality or connecting with the audience and didn’t know how to command or work the stage…even celine dion works a stage besdies belting it out…james is my fave so i vote for him each and every week bad or good perf, but it’s always a good perf…and yes i voted for stefano cuz i like him and i knew he needed the votes…i did the same w/naima until she got the boot…i still think haley is dreadful and jacob/paul and never vote for them…some people r saying it is going to come down to rock vs country w/james vs scotty like adam lambert vs chris allen….others think the producers r pimping Lauren and want her to b the next Kelly or Carrie and it will b Lauren vs Scotty as the final 2…i just hope it’s James vs ANYONE in the final 2 and James wins!